When I first saw this article by Jim Al-Khalili and Johnjoe McFadden, my skeptical reflex kicked and I was, well, skeptical. Often when quantum mechanics gets mentioned with biology, it's questionable material. But I've seen enough of Al-Khalili's other work, and as President of the British Humanist Association, I'm not inclined to think he's subject to being … Continue reading Biology uses quantum effects.
Tag: Consciousness
Massimo Pigliucci’s pessimistic view of mind uploading
Massimo Pigliucci wrote a paper on his skepticism of the possibility of mind uploading, the idea that our minds are information which it might be possible someday to copy into a computer virtual reality system or some other type of technology. His paper appears to be one chapter in a broader book, 'Intelligence Unbound: The Future … Continue reading Massimo Pigliucci’s pessimistic view of mind uploading
The attention schema theory of consciousness deserves your…attention
Michael Graziano published a brief article in the New York Times on his attention schema theory of consciousness, which a number of my fellow bloggers have linked to and discussed. I'm not sure this article was the clearest description of it that he's given, and I suspect the title biased readers to think his theory is another consciousness-is-an-illusion … Continue reading The attention schema theory of consciousness deserves your…attention
There is only one dogma of science: truth is better than fantasy
Dave Pruett has a post up at the Huffington Post looking at a declaration of eight "eminent" scientists and scholars calling for science to move past its materialistic focus. The list of authors in this declaration includes Rupert Sheldrake, whose TED talk was removed from the TED site last year after an outcry from the scientific community … Continue reading There is only one dogma of science: truth is better than fantasy
Blindsight by Peter Watts, a review
I recently read Peter Watts's book, 'Blindsight', a hard(ish) science fiction novel about first contact with extraterrestrials. This is a book that's been out for several years, and was a Hugo Award nominee in 2006, so I'm a bit late to the party. Indeed, since I started this blog in November, a number of people have … Continue reading Blindsight by Peter Watts, a review
Split brains and functioning consciousness
I've written before about split-brain patients, those who, due to severe epilepsy, had the connections between the two hemispheres of their brain severed, yet were subsequently able to lead normal lives without themselves even noticing any cognitive change, which has profound implications for how consciousness works. It turns out that there are people who are … Continue reading Split brains and functioning consciousness
David Chalmers: How do you explain consciousness?
In this TED talk, David Chalmers gives a summary of the problem whose name he coined, the hard problem of consciousness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhRhtFFhNzQ via David Chalmers: How do you explain consciousness? - YouTube. It seems like people who've contemplated consciousness fall into two groups, those who are bothered by the hard problem, and those who are not. … Continue reading David Chalmers: How do you explain consciousness?
A limited color vision philosophical zombie?
This article at IO9 reminded me of the recent discussion some of us had on philosophical zombies. Ever heard of the philosophical zombie? It's a philosophical concept that rarely translates into physiology - until now. A case of false color-blindness makes us wonder: What's the difference between seeing something and knowing that you're seeing something? … Continue reading A limited color vision philosophical zombie?
What does the Turing Test really mean?
The Turing Test is in the news this week, first with a wave of hype about a historical accomplishment, then with a secondary wave of skeptical scrutiny. The Turing Test was originally contemplated by Alan Turing in a 1950 paper. Turing envisaged it as an alternative to trying to determine if a machine could think. … Continue reading What does the Turing Test really mean?
Is consciousness in control? Does it matter?
A new scientific paper claims to describe an experiment that shows that consciousness controls our actions. From the paper: These results indicate that conscious intentions govern motor function… until today, it was unclear whether conscious motor intention exists prior to movement, or whether the brain constructs such an intention after movement initiation. The Neuroskeptic takes … Continue reading Is consciousness in control? Does it matter?
SelfAwarePatterns 